Category Archives: Automotive

Automotive

My Honda Superhawk 996

34 Comments

Well… I did it again.  After looking at Kawasaki’s, Suzuki’s, Yamaha’s, and a couple Hardly’s… I came home with another Honda… another Red Honda.  This is the Superhawk 996, a V-Twin.  Yes, I sold a Honda with 4 cylinders, 4 Carbs, 4 Pipes… and bring home a Honda with 2 Carbs, 2 cylinders, and 2 pipes… and it’s Twice the Bike.  I am not nearly as fatigued from the ride from Orem, and admittedly I got home a lot quicker.

This bike really and truly is a Torque Monster.  In Orem, on State Street… about 5 blocks from where I bought it, I was nearing an intersection that had turned Yellow.  So I just goosed the throttle like I always did on my Magna… expecting a quick burst of speed, nothing big, just enough to get through the yellow light.  That’s not what happened.  What happened was this hairy beast of a monster let out a roar and I wheelied through the intersection like a madman.    Thankfully there was no Law Enforcement around to witness this because I don’t think they would buy my excuse.

Carving up the canyons on the way home was pure enjoyment.

What’s funny though… the motorcycle “Wave”.  I saw a lot of motorcycles out today… passed by tons of them going the opposite direction.  I used to always get “The Wave” from other bikers.  Not One.  Not that I cared or expected it.  But there it is.

The Superhawk is a strange bike, I’ll admit that.  Very light and narrow for a 996cc machine.  The bike wants to cruise at 80 MPH at 4K RPM’s.  Just really sedate compared to the Magna at the same speed.  It just burbles along… singing it’s song… and then I downshift and open the throttle… and the Superhawk gets straight up PISSED.  The whole tone of the engine changes and the power comes on in a huge way.  110 horses and 80 pounds of torque come to bear… this is a great deal more power than the Magna had… and the Magna is considered a “Muscle Bike”.  Huh.   The Speedo on the Superhawk goes up to 180 MPH.  I didn’t test that… but I believe it can get up there.  I did inadvertantly hit a triple digit speed making a pass on a long straight.  The speed rolled on effortlessly and the bike felt solid as a rock.  I was shocked when I looked down and saw how fast I was going.  I instantly pulled that in…. One doesn’t want a ticket on the first day of ownership… that’s bad luck.

Overall, I am full of Happy Happy, Joy Joy feelings with this motorcycle…. and it looks so good… I don’t think I could ever get tired of looking at it.  In fact, I sat on the porch of Ogre Range just looking at it for the longest time.  Gorgeous bike.

Automotive

Sold the Honda Magna

16 Comments

Saturday I unexpectedly made a deal with a family to sell my beloved Honda Magna. The day before, I was having lunch with my Bride and we talked bikes. I decided to just keep the Magna and tweak it to better suit my needs. Seat, tank, pipes. Simple enough.

Then after lunch on Saturday some folks come in to the gun shop and we come to an agreement.  I’m actually kinda torn on selling it.  The VF750C’s engine is truly one of the very best engines ever put into any motorcycle.   Honda really needs to bring back the Magna, but with some more modern upgrades.  But as I say farewell to this bike, I’ll be able to make acquaintance with a new bike.  There are three main options.
First option, is a Kawasaki ZX-1100.  Full sized sport-touring bike.  This is a long range road interstate warrior… exactly what I want and need.  This bike has the range that I wish I had invested in off the bat when I got the Magna.  But it had been awhile since I rode, so it was wisdom to get into something to get my Biker Blood flowing again without spilling it.   But a bike like this… it’s a lot of machine. It’s a Starship that can cross the country at Warp Factor 10 like other bikes cruise at 60.
Second option, if the first one is taken before I get to it… is a Yamaha FZ1.  A Standard Liter Bike, all around easy bike to run on, but with good sized fuel tank that would get me where I wanted to go.  Not the most exciting of machines, but an all around solid bike that would do very well for me.
The third choice actually surprised me.  A Zuke Boulevard.  It’s not much bigger than the Magna, but it does have the fuel tank that I want.  It lacks the Hasty that the Magna has, but with the better fuel economy, bigger tank… it doubles the range that the Magna had. Electronic ignition, computer controlled fuel injection… it would be a very nice machine.  And it’s larger, more comfortable than the Magna… I could deal with that happily but it would be settling.

A lot of guys are telling me that I need to get a Harley.  Sure, I could do an XR1200.  Or a cool Dyna set up like Jax Teller’s… but I don’t want a bike that is loud, and you are just not finding them for around three grand, because that’s all that I’m spending.  I don’t want to Bank Roll a Bike.  I’m not going to carry a note on something that can so easily be ripped out from under you by an idiot in a Cage.

I’m crawling all over KSL.com’s Classifieds.  But if anyone out there knows of a GOOD bike for around 3 grand… hit me up.  I’m open to good suggestions.

 

Automotive

Bad news, Volt fans.

20 Comments

GM has killed production of the Chevy Volt.  The car that is completely useless, slow, underpowered, handles like an iceberg, and has the range of a Punt.

And GM blames the Media.  Uh huh.

Here’s the thing… It’s actually not a bad looking little car.  Much better looking that a Prius.  I bet the Volt would actually sell and do fairly well if they made a version of the Volt that was powered by a simple little eco-friendly 4 cylinder gas or diesel engine.

 

Automotive

Chevy Volt

33 Comments

I read that GM is forcing employees to drive the Volt.  Some employees are opting to pay for their own cars in order to avoid the Volt.  GM is offering to pay for public and home charging and doing everything they can to get people into the Volt cars… and employees are not pleased about it.  The stunning thing about the report is that after all the reinbursments for charging and everything, GM is chest pounding that they will save millions of dollars.

How?  If GM is paying for everything, it’s spending an awful lot of money to get people into a car that people are not wanting to get in.

Here’s an idea for GM.  Build a car that people actually want.  I don’t want a Volt.  I would never buy one.  Ever.  Here’s a promise.  I promise that I will never in my life buy a Volt.  Or a Prius.  Wait, maybe I would if I could get one for less than a pound of Tannerite.  I do like reactive targets.  But I would never buy one to drive.  Pretty much very few people want a Volt.  GM has made a car that only Metrosexual Hipsters want, because they don’t really want a car.  They want a political statement.  I want a car.  A real car.  Not a rolling iPod dock, not an Entertainment Center, not an “experience” or a rolling billboard for the Leftist’s Agenda.    No computers.  No BS frills.  A simple car that is fun to drive.

GM needs to build the Triumph TR6.

Think about it.  People would want it… they would buy them and GM wouldn’t have to pay out anything.  Sporty engine, light weight simple car with good handling, engine up front driving the wheels in the back…  People would enjoy driving and would be texting less and paying attention to the road more because they would realize that actual driving the car is more fun than the distraction devices in the car.  The car with an efficient little spirited 4 banger would get great mileage and would still be fun to drive.  I’d buy one of them!

Automotive, Weapons

Glock vs the 911

30 Comments

Most guys are comparing the Glock to the 1911.  I’m going to compare it to the 911…


For the last 40 years Porsche has been remaking the same design and calling it brand new, and the fans have been lapping it up and eagerly await the next version. Those on the outside look at it and see that it is the same thing.  The engine was misplaced, tacked on the rear like an afterthought outboard motor.  Every one is waiting for Porsche to scoot it in a bit to improve the car’s balance.
Glock only comes out with a new gun when someone makes a new caliber… In the twenty years of Glockdom, we have seen new generations which we are told are better than the previous ones, and the Glock Enthusiasts will happily explain it to you like evangelical missionaries.  But those on the outside look at it and see the same fault… That grip angle.  It’s wrong.  It’s not the same geometry that Saint J. Moses Browning chiselled in stone, so it can’t be right.
Now here is the thing about both the car and the gun… Like them or not, they work.  The racing beetle continues to be one of the worlds very best sportscars, as the Glock continues to be one of the best handguns.  Wrong or not, there is something very right about them.

Automotive

Another failed electric car.

13 Comments

Aptera motors.  Belly up.  The idea behind the Aptera was pretty good.  By excessively streamlining everything to get the most efficiency possible by reducing as much drag as possible, allows the car to get the most movement from the motivation.

The problem with the Aptera car is that it’s pretty much a standard electric.  Plug it in, charge it up, drive for a couple miles, then you have to plug it back in.   If you live in a city and only need to drive a couple miles to work and back… well.. maybe then such electric cars could work for you. But where I live, this sort of E-Car is pretty much completely useless.

Here is the layout that would work… and it’s simple, rugged, and reliable.  In fact, this system is used daily, all over the country.  Trains. We use a small, efficient diesel engine that spins a large flywheel.  The flywheel turns a generator which charges a bank of batteries.  The power then goes to the four electric motors.  One powering each wheel.  This gives the car an active computer controlled all wheel drive system so the car could actually be decent to drive.  Now, we add in some regenerative braking and efficiency is improved.

I’ve talked about this sort of electric car before, only to have some shoot the idea down because they thought I was talking about putting the electric motors in the wheels.  No, in the car, but not in the wheels.

Okay, so hands raised in the back of the room… yes.  You.  “You’re still burning fuel, how is this more efficient than a regular car?”  That’s a great question.  Talking about a car’s efficiency, the biggest drain on it is the transmission.  This layout doesn’t have one. Right there, there is a great deal of gain in efficiency.  Also, the computer system could control the engine’s RPM’s and fuel consumption based on output requirement, or even shut it down all together.   This system doesn’t require anything to be plugged in, to be recharged, and it can be driven farther than any other electric.  Unlike other hybrid systems, like the Prius… this is a true hybrid system… the petroleum powered engine doesn’t drive the wheels at all… and it doesn’t have a transmission. Which makes this system more efficient than any of those.  Also, it needs fewer heavy batteries.  So this type of car could actually be fun to drive… might even handle.  And like Cousin Jeremy is always concerned about, it could go around a corner.